Ex-state Legislator Roskam Appointed To Fawell's Seat

Former state Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Wheaton) won a return trip to Springfield on Saturday, when he was appointed by DuPage County Republican Party leaders to fill a vacancy in the Illinois Senate.

Roskam, 38, succeeds veteran state Sen. Beverly Fawell (R-Glen Ellyn), who resigned last week to spend more time with her grandchildren.

"Bev's shoes are going to be tough to fill," said Roskam, a trial lawyer and a state representative from 1993 to 1999. He gave up his seat in the House a little more than a year ago after an unsuccessful run for Congress.

"I am pleased beyond words that I have been entrusted with an opportunity to be a voice for 200,000 people," Roskam said.

Roskam will fill Fawell's vacancy through the end of the year and will be the GOP candidate on the November ballot to serve the two years remaining on her term.

He was one of eight Senate hopefuls interviewed Saturday morning by a 10-member committee of party officials at DuPage County Republican headquarters in Wheaton.

Under state law, the formal appointment was made by a three-member committee headed by state Senate President James "Pate" Philip (R-Wood Dale), DuPage's influential GOP chairman. But a party spokeswoman said Philip opted to expand the committee and let others participate in the decision.

The other leading contenders for the appointment appeared to have been state Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Wheaton), 33, a former DuPage County Board member who is in the middle of his first term in the House, and Eugene Kennelly, 45, a former prosecutor and a top aide to Illinois Atty. Gen. Jim Ryan.

There has been talk among political insiders that Philip would have preferred Kennelly.

A strong conservative in the House, Roskam was what political insiders describe as a "known commodity," with a legislative record, ties to other Senate Republicans and a history of running effective campaigns.

"We invited everyone who expressed an interest in the Illinois Senate appointment, and each of them was given serious consideration," Philip was quoted as saying in a statement released by the DuPage Republican Central Committee.

"With so many qualified applicants, it was a difficult decision . . . . But we believe Peter Roskam will best serve the interests of the people of the 20th Senate District."